Two weeks ago, a local animal shelter rescued 120 beagles from a research lab that was going bankrupt. The story on the news was heart-breaking. So at dinner that night, we talked about it and decided to adopt one from the shelter. The very next day, we all went to the shelter to meet the dogs. The kids were excited to get a new pet. It was so hard to just pick one. They were all so cute. But we decided on “Freedom”. Freedom is a smaller size beagle but has a lot of love to give. He needs a lot of training on how to be a pet. He wasn’t exposed to very much from the inside of his crate for 2 years. Freedom never even walked on grass until we took him for his first walk. But considering he had limited human contact in his previous environment, he is very affectionate towards us. Freedom snuggles up to the kids while they are watching TV and enjoys being pet by them. He is adjusting better than what I would of thought. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to give him a loving home.

Kimberly Wragge    http:www.kimsautismawareness.com

I’m sure like everyone on the east coast, we are trying to stay cool in this heatwave. This is also the first week of summer rec programs, soccer camp, and art classes. So unfortunatley, we are constantly on the move. If we could just stay home and enjoy the air conditioner, it would be great. But life doesn’t stop for a heatwave. All of the kids are exhausted throughout the day. They have low energy levels and want to go to bed as early as possible. We are all looking forward to the cooler temperatures next week.

As difficult as it is to be the parent of an autistic child, it can be just as difficult to have an autistic brother or sister. The “typically developing” siblings of autistic children are, in fact, the furthest from typical. Often, they are wiser and more mature than their age would suggest. And they have to be, given the many challenges they face: parental responsibility; a feeling of isolation from the rest of their family; confusion, fear, anger and embarrassment about their autistic sibling. And on top of all of it, guilt for having these feelings.

As their parents, there’s a lot we can do to help. For starters, we can educate them early on, by explaining their sibling’s disorder. There are often support groups for siblings where they can share their feelings and experiences with other typical children that understand each other. Siblings will commonly have negative feelings — some might never connect or want to connect with their autistic siblings — but the good news is that typical siblings often turn out to be more compassionate and caring than average. Kimberly Wragge       http:www.kimsautismawareness.com

As the official school year comes to an end, some children will be staying home for a short break and then returning to school during the summer. This can cause some confusion and/or anxiety during this transitional period. One suggestion is to get a calendar and write “HOME” and “SCHOOL” on the appropriate days. If your child isn’t reading yet, you can color in the boxes one color for home and a different color for school. Every day, show the child the calendar so he/she is prepared for what is happening that day. This will help with this often confusing transitional period.